From whether the little one said “mama” or “dada” first to reciting the lyrics to our favorite songs, we humans seem to be obsessed with words. First words trigger a heartwarming excitement, but some last words spark a morbid curiosity: let’s discover what John Wayne Gacy’s were.
On May 10, 1994 — that’s fourteen years after he was sentenced to death — John Wayne Gacy was executed at the Stateville Correctional Center by means of lethal injection. His infamous last words were “kiss my ass.”
For more details on this notorious serial killer and sex offender’s last day on this earth, including his last activities, meal, and words, read on.
John Wayne Gacy’s Last Words
Ted Bundy, Francis “Two-Gun” Crowley, Clarence Lackey, and Robert Towery expressed their love for their family members. Willie Shannon, Angel Maturino Resendiz, Karl Chamberlain, and Jack Jones Jr. apologized to the family members of their victims.
Roger Keith Coleman, Earle Nelson, Lionel Herrera, Robert Otis Pierce, Gregory Wright, and most recently Daniel Lewis Lee professed their innocence one last time. George Appel, Vincent Gutierrez, George Harris, Jimmy Glass, Jeffrey Matthews, and James French used the moment before their execution as an opportunity to crack a joke.
But it turns out that John Wayne Gacy was not in the mood to wisecrack, ask for forgiveness, express regret, pass love to the family members who he was leaving behind nor did he shed light on why he committed his heinous crimes.
Instead, the 52-year-old used his last breath to spit out the words “kiss my ass.”
Some may view this as disrespectful to the families of his 33 victims while others interpret those three simple words as a reflection of his dark sense of humor and clown-like personality. Either way, as far as the last words of killers go, Gacy’s simply don’t chalk up and are nothing to write home about.
John Wayne Gacy’s Last Meal
It is not just the last words of infamous serial killers that are of interest. It is customary for those on death row, also known as condemned prisoners, to request a last meal.
While some condemned prisoners — such as Danny Rolling and Hastings Arthur Wise — indulge in luxurious lobster tail meals others like David Mason, Michael Bruce Ross, Stanley Williams, and Aileen Wournos declined a special meal altogether.
Have you ever found yourself wondering what John Wayne Gacy’s last meal was? Well, wonder no more. Before the lethal injection had its way with Gacy, he enjoyed his last meal of a dozen fried shrimp, French fries, a bucket of original recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken, and a pound of fresh strawberries.
What surprises many is that before his conviction, Gacy was the manager of three KFC restaurants.
John Wayne Gacy’s Last Day
The day before his scheduled execution, John, who went by “Pogo the Clown” and “Patches the Clown” personas, was transported from Illinois’s Menard Correctional Center to the location of his death: the Stateville Correctional Center.
On the afternoon of his death, Gacy took to the prison grounds and enjoyed a private picnic with members of his family. As is customary for all death row inmates, he was offered the chance to sit with a Catholic priest before making his way to the execution chamber.
He took this offer up and observed prayer before walking to his death. In a 2014 interview his sister, Karen Gacy, recalls that at this point a crowd was already formed and the sound of almost 1,000 people chanting was easily heard.
During this period, the lethal injection consisted of the deployment of three chemicals: one to put the person to sleep, one to stop the person’s breathing, and one to stop their heart. For some unknown reason, the second “killing chemical” solidified unexpectedly and the procedure was complicated.
John Wayne Gacy’s Death
In light of the complications, the execution was initially unsuccessful and the clogged IV tube had to be replaced. This process took around 10 minutes and — although it is impossible to prove — Gacy’s attorneys speculate that this time was excruciatingly painful for the Clown Killer.
Painful or not, this experience was supposedly the catalyst for Illinois’ adoption of an alternative method of lethal injection.
It took a grand total of eighteen minutes to successfully execute John Wayne Gacy. That’s approximately four times longer than the expected timeframe.
After his death, which was confirmed at 12:58am, Gacy’s brain was removed and was given to Helen Morrison — one of Gacy’s defense witnesses — where it remains to this day.